Mark Benford
|Name=Mark Benford |Status=Alive |Job=FBI Agent |Flashed=Himself investigating the flashforward Himself drinking alcohol }}Mark Benford is a character, the main protagonist, on FlashForward portrayed by Joseph Fiennes. Mark is an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is leading the investigation into the cause of the flashforwards. He is the husband of Olivia Benford and the father of Charlie Benford. Character Biography Pre-Flash Mark is a recovering alcoholic, who has recommitted to sobriety in order to repair his marriage. His wife has threatened to leave him if he relapses into drinking again. As of the morning before the flashforwards, he seems to be doing well in this regard, attending an AA meeting with his sponsor, Aaron, and exchanging whimsical "love notes" with his wife in which they sarcastically profess to hate each other, with obvious humor. At work, Mark and his partner Demetri have been investigating a suspected terrorist network who they believe to be planning a major terrorist attack. For the three weeks prior to the blackout, Mark and Demetri have been on a stakeout of their suspects, until the morning of the blackout, when they see two of their suspects, Khaleed and Omar, departing in a black SUV with an unidentified woman. They attempt to tail the SUV surreptitiously, but are spotted, and a high-speed chase ensues. In the middle of the chase, the global blackout occurs. Flash In his flashforward, Mark is in an FBI office, in a state of evident anxiety and frustration. He is pacing in front of a large bulletin board spanning one wall of the office, covered with notes relating to his investigation of the flashforward events. He takes a long drink from a flask of some alcoholic beverage. He then writes a note reading "Who else knows?", underlined, on a page from a daily calendar, which displays a date of August 29, 2010. He is wearing a handmade friendship bracelet. He sees two dark figures carrying weapons with laser sights, approaching the office. He readies his own weapon as they draw closer. They are wearing plastic halloween masks that cover their entire heads. One has a tattoo with three stars on his left forearm, a tattoo which is diagrammed among the notes on the bulletin board. The flashforward ends before any violence ensues. Post-Flash In the immediate aftermath of the blackout, Mark and Demetri attempt to render assistance to the injured, and try in vain to contact their families. They see the black SUV they were chasing, and find their suspects dead, but take the unidentified woman into custody. Upon learning of the widespread scope of the devastation, Demetri insists that Mark go to check on his family. On his way to the hospital where his wife works, however, Olivia calls Mark and reassures him that she is okay and that Charlie is safe at home with the sitter. Back at FBI headquarters, Mark attends a meeting, led by his superior, Stan Wedeck, in which they try to make sense of what has happened. Mark shares with the others present the experience of his flashforward, and they begin to realize that they have all had similar experiences, glimpsing the same interval of time in their own lives, 10 pm Pacific Time on April 29, 2010. Demetri returns to headquarters with their prisoner as the agents continue to compare notes, and Wedeck decides to assign Mark, Demetri and Janis Hawk to the investigation of what caused the blackout and flashforwards. That evening, Mark and Demetri begin assembling the bulletin board and notes that Mark saw in his vision. Demetri tells Mark that he did not see any vision of the future during his blackout, and shares his concerns about what this might imply for his future. Back at home that night, Mark meets with his sponsor, and confesses to him that he was drinking again in his flashforward. He explains that he could tell that it was not just "a one-time thing"; he felt just as he had back during the times when he was drinking heavily. Olivia returns home as Mark is finishing repairs on the garage door opener, to her pleased surprise. After checking in on a sleeping Charlie, they lie together in bed, and Olivia asks Mark what he saw. He tells her most of it, but omits the part about his drinking, fearing her reaction, given her ultimatum to leave him if he were to start drinking again. He then asks Olivia what she saw, and she refuses. He presses her on the subject, and eventually relents and tells him that she saw herself with another man, someone who is unfamiliar to her but whom she seemed to know and have feelings for in her flashforward. He reassures her that just because they saw these things, that doesn't mean they are certain to occur. Later, in the middle of the night, Mark sits outside in their yard, on the swingset, when Charlie comes out to sit in his lap, telling him that she had a bad dream. He sees that she is holding something in her hand, and she reveals the friendship bracelet which he saw himself wearing in his flashforward. As she gives it to him, fastening it around his wrist, he looks quite disturbed at this indication of the accuracy of his vision, and what that might mean for his alcoholism and his marriage.